Comments on Sen. Soto pitches his own plan for teacher debit cardsTypePad2013-08-14T17:32:23ZMiami Heraldhttp://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/tag:typepad.com,2003:http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/08/sen-soto-pitches-his-own-plan-for-teacher-debit-cards/comments/atom.xml/Ricky Smiley Toxic commented on 'Sen. Soto pitches his own plan for teacher debit cards'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451b26169e201901ecaff88970b2013-08-14T19:47:27Z2013-08-14T19:47:27ZRicky Smiley Toxic "4. Who Needs Public Schools? The Republican establishment in Tallahassee continues to cut the state’s commitment to education. “Rick Scott...<p>&quot;4. Who Needs Public Schools?</p>
<p>The Republican establishment in Tallahassee continues to cut the state’s commitment to education. “Rick Scott and the legislature don’t care about education,” says Susan Smith, president of the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida. In 2011, Scott and his cronies removed $1.3 billion in funding for kindergarten through grade 12, resulting in hundreds of teacher layoffs.</p>
<p>“Just horrific,” is how Mario Piscatella of the group MPA Political describes the cuts. “They’re undermining our education system.” And Piscatella criticizes another Republican initiative. Rather than funding colleges adequately, he says the state voted to build a 14th state university, which seems to him an utter waste of tax dollars. “Scott talks about bringing in new jobs and companies to Florida, but that won’t happen with poorly educated kids,” Piscatella adds.</p>
<p>Others note the budget cut for education was so steep that the governor’s popularity plummeted. So in the 2012 state budget, Scott added $1 billion for schools. He’s been touring the Sunshine State, telling students how the new money will help them learn and find good jobs. Many call it sheer hypocrisy intended to get voters to support Republicans running for reelection to the legislature this fall. Scott does not run again until 2014.&quot;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/04/13/rick_scotts_toxic_legacy/" rel="nofollow">http://www.salon.com/2012/04/13/rick_scotts_toxic_legacy/</a></p>